The goal of NHTSA's new regulation is to reduce the number of deaths caused by backovers -- the kind that often occur when children are playing directly behind parked vehicles. Around 17,000 kids and adults are injured in such accidents every year.

The only problem is, NHTSA has yet to establish the official guidelines for rearview camera technology -- rules governing the placement of such cameras, their minimum field of vision, etc. Initially, those guidelines were supposed to be issued in early 2012. The deadline then got pushed back to late 2012. As of today, the rules still haven't been published.

And according to NHTSA's head honcho, David Strickland, they may not appear anytime soon, meaning that NHTSA will likely miss its goal of requiring rearview cameras on vehicles next year. Strickland says that he doesn't want to rush through the guidelines; he wants to be sure that he and the agency "get it right".